The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-08-02

Hsw q Terrible Catastrophe Was ANerted
by Boys Presence Of Mind.


boy, the fifteen-year-old son of loco
motive engineer. who had often ridden
with his father and "knew the engine
pooty we'll" Indeed the engineer had
frequently let the boy ''drive" on a
long stretch of straight track. One
night he left Dave in charge of the en-
CINE on a siding while he went to sup
per as usual. There came up furious
wind; and, after little some cars shot
! by without any engine. The wind had
started them. Boy, think quick! Down
grade! The Lightning Express is to
come that way!
Nobody near. No telegraph wire.
The trains are headed together. There
is less than an hour to catch those run
away ears and pull them out of the
way. No time for hesitation! He
springs to the lever. picks up speed and
tears away with grade and wind and
steam like whizzing arrow.
They are miles ahead. The rushing
sion. He almost sees through the dark,
tempestuous night. What set him fly
ing toward this plunge was thought of
the Lightning Express. Now danger
takes hold of him. What if he is just
too late! The runaway train is in sight!
Off steam! No, on again! Let the
story-teller tell the rest.
He must slow up, but do it so nicely
that when he does come up with them
there shall be the least possible shock;
for here is the hardest part of the bust
ness. He has nobody to help him
couple" He must be, for the once,
both engineer and switchman. He had
not thought what formidable Job this
was until it stared him i'm the face.
On he flew. revolving the situation in
his head and adjusting his engine with
the incest care until he was upon the
very heels of the runaway; then, with
many misgivings. slipped out of the
engine-house and crawled along the
side of the locomotive and down on the
"c0w-catcher. -,
Here, selling the long coupler in one
hand and holding on with the other,
he stood watching with breathless in
terest the approaching collision. The
suspense was agonizing. The situation
was perileus. A gust of wind might
sweep him from his place; he might be
shaken off or crushed.
He was almost panic-stricken. A
dozen times he was at the point of turn
ing back. To his startled ears the air
was full of uncanny sounds-the sweep
of another tornado, the rush of the
Lightning" just ahead. But he had
in him the stuff which heroes are made
of. The hero, remember, is not he who
is insensible to danger, but rather he
who feels and realizes, but yet over
comes ii.
The Meteor" drew nearer and near
er the flying train. Dave had used ex-
cellent Judgment in regulating its speed;
for at length it came up with the rear
car with scarcely a shock. so that Dave
could reach over and drop in the pin.
Then clambering back into the engine
house he seized the throttle" To his
amazement the train did not stop. In
stead of the 'Meteor's" stopping the
runaway, the runaway dragged the
Meteor" along in its headlong fight.
Dave was horror-struck. He had thought
the train would stop at once. He had
not calculated what a tremendous i'm
petus all those heavy cars had acquired.
Now, then, the tussle! The train be-
gan to slow up. 1t came to a standstill.
Then the backward pull. Slowly they
got under way; but the wind and up
grade were against them.
Dave began to get anxious. THE
Lightning" must be due by this time.
He kept a sharp lookout behind and
whistled like mad around the curves.
At length he entered upon the long,
straight, level line of road which ex.
tended clear to Blankton. Dave
breathed freer. 1t was the home
stretch-a good ten-mile run.
Hardly had he congratulated himself,
when far behind-but Enthusiastically
he heard the scream of "Lightning's"
whistle. He was going already at his
topmost speed. He was making not
more than thirty-fve miles an hour,
while the Lightning" was coming on
at the rate of sixty. With horror he
heard it gaining on him; the next
whistle was nearer, and at length when
he had made only two-thirds the dis
lance the CLEAN of its headlight came
shooting round wooded curve in his
rear.
Out of the very despair of the mo-
ment Dave gathered calmness. He
turned his back on the pursuing train.
he cast no look behind, he shut his ears
to its on-coming roar; looked straight
ahead. kept his eyes on the track, his
mind on his duty.
He is almost there-he is there, he